| The Busy Body | |
|---|---|
 film poster by Frank Frazetta | |
| Directed by | William Castle |
| Screenplay by | Ben Starr |
| Based on | novel by Donald E. Westlake |
| Produced by | William Castle |
| Starring | Sid Caesar Robert Ryan Anne Baxter Kay Medford Jan Murray Richard Pryor Arlene Golonka Ben Blue Dom DeLuise Bill Dana Godfrey Cambridge Marty Ingels George Jessel |
| Cinematography | Harold E. Stine |
| Edited by | Edwin H. Bryant |
| Music by | Vic Mizzy |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Busy Body is a 1967 American comedy film directed and produced by William Castle and based on Donald E. Westlake's novel. It is Richard Pryor's film debut.
Plot
George Norton is a low-level bumbler who works for Chicago crime boss Charley Barker. A well-dressed mama's boy, George is in good standing with Barker, gaining a promotion, until an incident that costs the mob a million dollars.
George is indirectly responsible when Archie, a mob courier, is killed at a barbecue. After the funeral, Barker instructs George to dig up Archie's body because $500,000 was stuffed inside the lining of each side of a blue suit that an unwitting George personally chose for the burial.
George opens the casket to find it empty, and soon occupied by a different corpse. He sets out to retrieve the body and the money before Barker gets angry enough to arrange a funeral for him.
Cast
- Sid Caesar as George
- Robert Ryan as Charley
- Anne Baxter as Margo
- Kay Medford as Ma Norton
- Jan Murray as Murray
- Richard Pryor as Lt. Whitaker
- Dom DeLuise as Kurt
- Godfrey Cambridge as Mike
- Bill Dana as Archie
- Arlene Golonka as Bobbi
- Charles McGraw as Fred Harwell
- Ben Blue as Felix Rose
- Marty Ingels as Willie
- George Jessel as Mr. Fessel
- Paul Wexler as Mr. Merriwether
- Don Brodie as Board Member
See also
References
- "'Warning Shot' and 'The Busy Body'". The New York Times. 8 June 1967. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- quint (6 November 2008). "A Movie A Day: Quint on THE BUSY BODY (1967): You guys are going to learn class or I'm gonna kick your teeth in!". Ain't It Cool News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
External links
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- 1967 films
- American independent films
- Films based on American novels
- Films based on works by Donald E. Westlake
- Films directed by William Castle
- Films scored by Vic Mizzy
- 1960s crime comedy films
- American crime comedy films
- Paramount Pictures films
- 1967 comedy films
- 1960s English-language films
- 1960s American films
- English-language crime comedy films
- Crime comedy film stubs